Born: 9 August 1877 or 1869, United States
Died: 10 May 1957
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone was an American businesswoman, inventor, and philanthropist. She was one of the first African American women to become a millionaire. In the early 20th century, she founded a successful commercial and educational enterprise focused on cosmetics for African-American women.
Born in Metropolis, Illinois, to Robert and Isabella Turnbo, who had formerly been enslaved, Annie grew up on a farm near Metropolis as the tenth of eleven children. Her father fought for the Union in the Civil War, and her family escaped to Illinois, seeking refuge from slavery in Kentucky.
While not in school, Annie developed a passion for hair and hair care, often practicing hairdressing with her sister. She combined her chemistry and hair care knowledge to create her own hair-care products.
By the 1920s, Annie Turnbo Malone had amassed great wealth, even paying nearly $40,000 in income tax in 1924, reportedly the highest in Missouri. Despite her immense fortune, she led a modest life and generously donated thousands of dollars to the local black YMCA and Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C.